Be the best to survive credit crunch

Chances are my sister's hamster will eat some or all of her seven children within a week of me writing this column, writes rural affairs blogger Nathan Rous.

That's the hamster's children, not my sister's.

Under the impression that she had bought two females, a routine top-up of feed revealed the life partners were actually Mr and Mrs, and thus two had become six.

Another three were discovered during a clean-out, although any more and she would have to upgrade from a cage to a council house (I dread to think of the CSA bill should Mr Hamster not stick around).

Hamsters are a strange and incredibly fertile breed, hence the ability to snack on one's offspring: 'Got the munchies? Well, we won't miss one, will we dear?' appears to be the sort of conversation that takes place as mum turns carnivore in the hours after giving birth.

While she tends to plump for the malformed and weak, even the tough young cookies can go from son to son-dwich in a matter of moments.

For the dear, indescriminate hamster, food prices will not cause any worry lines, nor lost sleep.

A few 'lost' children perhaps, but not sleep. For the rest of us though, food prices continue to prove a permanent pain in the back pocket.

I've lost count of the conversations I've had in the last week where people have explained how they have really begun to notice the difference at the till. Bread, eggs, milk, meat, pasta, pizza - until now they've been increasing under our noses but the increments are far more noticeable now.

Not quite diesel-esque but it's getting that way.

Although I'm pretty sure the accountants at Britain's big four supermarkets have a comfortable kitty to fall back on, what will happen to the army of local independent producers who have sprung up across Shropshire during an affluent last 10 years?

If price is key for consumers desperate to keep their household budget under control then will the little man suffer?

In America they have a term called the recession diet, even though I have yet to see a Lycra-clad celebrity endorse it.

The recession diet is what happens when shoppers feel the pinch: what they spend, where they spend and how they spend it.

Classic examples include the diners who skip starters or order a glass of wine with their meal rather than a bottle because one of them is going to drive instead of ordering a taxi. And that's if you go out at all, given the turndown in the restaurant trade as a result of the credit crunch.

Many consumers will switch to a cheaper supermarket; ditching Waitrose and Sainsbury's in favour of Asda and Aldi.

Buying habits also change, shopping more frequently but buying less.

This is not necesarily grim news for our independents. By concentrating on their message - it's local, it's friendly, it's healthy, etc - they can ride the rollercoaster and still come out the other side.

But those producers that think consumers will buy their product just because its local will find out the hard way how fickle we can be.

I spent £40 at a food fayre this weekend and saw the good and the bad of the local food scene: great local cider which blows the competition out of the water on price and taste but then marmalade for £3 when even the finest Duchy Originals sells for £2.49 followed by a miniscule pot of olives for £2.75.

It is easy to see who will survive when the crunch hits hard. You don't have to go downmarket or slash your price to stay afloat, but you have to be the best in your field if the cash-conscious shopper isn't going to go elsewhere.